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Shakkan
Shakkan is the God of Beasts, the brother of Nergal and the father of the sirithai race who spent many years sealed in the Ruined Kingdom. He has always favoured the more savage races over the "civilized" races and formed the Clergy of Shakkan to promote such ideas and protect the beasts of the world. He has recently begun taking a more active role in the affairs of mortals. Biography Early Years Gaea, Goddess of the Earth, gave birth to Shakkan at some point before the recorded history of the Land of the Living. Shakkan was wild and did what he wanted, creating various beasts with which he populated the world. Many members from the more intelligent races sided with the God of Beasts, forming the Clergy of Shakkan who were close with the Clergy of Gaea who also respected nature. It's believed that Shakkan was responsible for creating the dragons, the mightiest of beasts, although little information survives of early history of the world. He also showed an interest in Tiamat, Goddess of the Sea, and helped populate the seas with many fierce beasts. Shakkan and his brother Nergal, the God of War, came to hate each other and their children--sirithai and humans--came to share the sentiment as well after humanity began spreading and conquering other lands from other races. Shakkan was shocked to see how Nergal's worshippers cruelly hunted down many beasts of the wild to the brink of extinction around the First Age and unleashed them on human settlements, leading to stories that later became legends which later became myths of these dark times. The rebellion of the dark dragon who would be known as Frazzn'korth came as a surprise to Shakkan who had expected dragons to watch over other beasts and not attempt to rule them. The Betrayer's rebellion and venomous words were about to sway several dragons to his side until he was defeated in the city-state of Dar'Cenrath by a group of sages who managed to seal the dark dragon's soul into the Dragon Diamond albeit with a great cost that decimated Dar'Cenrath. The dragon's rebellion weighed heavily on Shakkan's mind since. When Kagetsu Aurelac de Maar Sul, the Andain son of Mardük the God of Chaos, killed Gaea during the War of the Andain, Shakkan grew angry--this was not only because of his relationship to Gaea but also because Gaea had been one of the few gods who had not harmed Shakkan's children in any way. Shakkan decided to remain neutral in the conflict, however, because he did not want to fight on the side of Nergal but he did not want to aid Gaea's killer, Kagetsu, either. He only concentrated on keeping his beasts safe. Things turned for the worse when Nergal used Frazzn'korth and Kagetsu's rebellions as an excuse to seal away potentially dangerous races such as the faerfolc, the lefein and the sirithai away. Shakkan could not take it anymore when he saw his children being put to sleep, and he went off the deep end. He attacked Nergal openly in a fit of rage. The battle between the two gods was fierce, but Nergal was the God of War and thus eventually beat Shakkan. It took the intervention of Hephaestus, the God of Smithing, who saved Shakkan in the nick of time, so Shakkan managed to flee from Nergal's wrath. This marked the deepening of the budding friendship between Hephaestus and Shakkan. Shakkan lay low for the following millennia. He did not participate in various wars that took place, and his clergy became a shadow of its former self. He was still angry that his children had been put to sleep, and he swore to fight Nergal again someday. He appeared only occasionally, but most people forgot that the God of Beasts had existed, and he only had a select few worshippers and beasts of the forests at his disposal. Darkness Within Quest for the Dragon Diamond Shakkan got more interested in the events of the world in the Third Age when the story of Darkness Within took place. He had noticed that a group of rogue knights known as the Fire Lizards were after the Dragon Diamond and that the knights planned to release the dark dragon Frazzn'korth from the diamond and use the dragon's power to take over the world. Shakkan did not want the tragedy of the First Age to repeat, and he sent his clerics and beasts of the forest after the knights and their allies. The God of Beasts eventually ended up duelling against Omaroch d'Zarnagon who he thought was helping the knights. After a fierce duel he finally realized that Omaroch was in fact trying to take the Dragon Diamond back from the knights, and he let him continue the quest. However, he also received a prophetic vision of things to come from an unknown source and that Omaroch would play a part in some cataclysmic event. He decided to keep an eye on not only the Fire Lizards but also on Omaroch. Shakkan eventually tracked the knights down to an old temple where the leader of the knights was revealed to be an ancient demon named Malakhia d'Zarnagon. Malakhia used the diamond's power to beat back Shakkan and Heath, and Shakkan was shocked to realize that Malakhia could even challenge the gods if he succeeded in releasing Frazzn'korth. However, Omaroch and a few humans and elves managed to thwart Malakhia's sinister plans and made the temple collapse on top of Malakhia and the Dragon Diamond. It seemed the threat posed by the diamond and the archdemon who had tried to abuse it was finally over. Price of Interference Little did Shakkan and the fellowship know that Malakhia was far from finished. He could not get out of the ruins as the power of the Dragon Diamond prevented him from doing anything, but he sent telepathic instructions to his right-hand man, Kaaf, who sent the Fire Lizards all over the world to gather necessary magical artifacts which they could use to free Malakhia and amplify the already tremendous powers of the Dragon Diamond. Omaroch and his companions hunted down the Fire Lizards one by one and even had to face sinister operatives from the Order of the Black Rose which had also set its sights on the Dragon Diamond. Eventually Kaaf, the last living Fire Lizar, managed to free Malakhia with the cost of his own life. A climactic showdown took place in the Ruined Kingdom when Omaroch and his companions faced Malakhia who was leeching power from the Dragon Diamond. Shakkan and Heath appeared on the scene and helped Omaroch and the others combat the powerful Malakhia. Heath and many mortals died during this battle, but eventually Malakhia was defeated and his soul was sealed into the diamond for all eternity. When Shakkan found out that Omaroch was actually Malakhia's youngest son, he finally realized what the strange vision he had seen had meant: Omaroch would be one of the triggers for the end of the world. Although Shakkan had wanted to avoid doing anything, he did not want the Prophecy of the Two Brothers come to pass. He informed Omaroch's brothers of Omaroch's whereabouts, and the demons captured Omaroch and dragged him back to the Demon Realm. This, however, had an unforeseen consequence because now that Omaroch was not around to protect his wife Delora d'Zarnagon and their children, the Clergy of Mardük could act. This eventually led to the kidnapping of Omaroch's oldest son Kareth d'Zarnagon who was brainwashed and became the dark cleric Zarnagon. Nergal realized what had happened and was furious at Shakkan and Heath for interfering with mortal affairs which he considered his. It was also a form of petty revenge on the fact that Shakkan had escaped from Nergal's grasp during their first brutal duel in the First Age. Heath was already gone by this time, so Nergal and Artemicia captured Shakkan together and forcibly sealed him into the Ruined Kingdom for his insolence in helping out "pathetic mortals". This was in their view a just punishment, but it also fueled Shakkan's rage and made the tomb of the sleeping sirithai emerge from the ground and appear in the catacombs underneath Lutherin. Distreyd Era Shakkan spent many years sealed in the Ruined Kingdom in various host bodies. Whenever the bodies weakened enough, Nergal always made sure to swap Shakkan into another host body in order to prevent Shakkan from returning to the High Plane. Shakkan could not leave the bodies because a shard of Krystallopyr kept draining his powers. The latest host of Shakkan ended up being the dark elf Mori'sul Agara, and Shakkan spent many years in Mori'sul's body, having many meaningful conversations with him. Ironically something happened that involved the progeny of Malakhia while Shakkan was sealed away. Zarnagon and Omaroch, who had been reunited and turned to the Clergy of Mardük's cause in the years following Omaroch's capture, travelled to the Ruined Kingdom to release the spirits of Frazzn'korth and Malakhia into the dragon's body just like the prophecy had foretold in order to herald Mardük's return to the world. Zarnagon proved his ambitions were greater than that when he betrayed his father. He never planned to use the dragon for the benefit of demons or Mardük but wanted all the power for himself just like his grandfather Malakhia had once attempted to do. This triggered a chain reaction which absorbed Zarnagon into the dragon's body and the dragon transformed into the Godslayer which now had three spirits within: Frazzn'korth, Malakhia and Kareth d'Zarnagon. The Godslayer appeared in the skies of Yamato and devoured both Cardia and Mardük. The Cataclysm began with devastating results. One such result was that the disturbance in the flow of magic triggered the awakening of the sirithai who quickly returned to their ancient lands in the desert in Southern Libaterra. Thus Shakkan himself had been inadvertently responsible for the reappearance of his children albeit with a terrible cost as the Godslayer had now become a threat to gods, demons, dragons, mortals and the sirithai. Godslayer Era Prison Break A group members of the Grand Alliance entered the Ruined Kingdom in the early spring of 1017 AE to save King Marcus Sarillius who had been kidnapped. Nergal appeared in the temple to have some fun on the mortals' expense, and Refan d'Zarnagon, the other son of Omaroch, eventually released Shakkan and Mori'sul by pulling out the Krystallopyr shard because he realized that his friends could not beat a powerful foe like Nergal by themselves. Shakkan possessed Mori'sul and used him to attack Nergal's mortal host, the cleric Jacob Seneron. Hephaestus appeared at this point, too, taking over the fallen Axikasha Keiran who Nergal had just fatally injured. The two gods worked in tandem with Marcus to strike Jacob down and drive Nergal away. The wounds and the overall fatigue were too much for Mori'sul's already weakened body. He and Shakkan used the last bits of their strength to keep the crumbling temple in pieces and opened a portal so that the fellowship could escape from the Ruined Kingdom alive. As the fellowship entered the portal, Shakkan expressed his gratitude by telling them that they were only pawns in the gods' grand cosmic game and that they had traitors in their midst. He could not reveal the identities of the traitors, however, because he had learned the hard way that nasty things would happen if anyone, even gods, tried to mess around with prophecies. He tried to comfort the fellowship by saying that although they could not change their fate, they could at least rise to meet it with head held high if they were willing to do that. As the temple finally crumbled down, it buried Mori'sul underneath it. Shakkan left the dark elf's body just in time before the body was crushed by the huge chunks of rock, and he heard the elf's last words: "Thank you." Desert Uprising Shakkan got a kick out of seeing Hephaestus smack Nergal on the head. He had a short conversation with Hephaestus in Starholme, but things turned sour between the two gods when Shakkan told Hephaestus that he had felt the Sirithai's awakening and that he would use their strength to strike down the humanfolk in the deserts of Libaterra. According to Shakkan the humans had stolen the lands that should have belonged to Sirithai all along, and he was finally ready to set things right. He also wanted revenge for what Nergal had done to his people in the First Age, and he was willing to slaughter Nergal's children, humans, by the thousands this time around to make his point clear. Hephaestus tried to talk Shakkan out of it, but Shakkan reacted violently, saying that if Gaea's Faerfolc could live on the world, so could the sirithai. He left to meet the sirithai before Hephaestus could reply. The sirithai recognized their god and welcomed him with open arms, and Shakkan reigned from the sirithai lair of Xibalba for several weeks, planning a war against humans with prominent sirithai such as Qadohi and Xolkai. The sirithai captured four people wandering in the desert, one of whom happened to be Refan d'Zarnagon who had helped free Shakkan in the Ruined Kingdom, and planned to sacrifice them to the monstrous Plushiebunny in order to honour Shakkan who had come back to lead the sirithai to victory against the Sarquil of the Sultanate of Karaganda. Shakkan was consumed by rage at this point and had a mostly incoherent exchange with Refan, explaining his reasons for choosing to annihilate the Sarquil and let the persecuted sirithai reign supreme over Libaterra. Things turned more chaotic when a fellowship led by Axikasha Keiran and Ismail entered the sirithai lair in hopes of negotiating with them. Instead they faced Shakkan who was tired of all the talking and wanted to see some blood. Qadohi, the sirithai High Cleric, managed to convince Shakkan to spare the fellowship if they would prove their strength in combat against Plushiebunny. The reason why Shakkan chose to follow Qadohi's idea was because he found it highly amusing, recognizing many of the fellowship members from the adventure in the Ruined Kingdom. The fellowship succeeded in defeating Plushiebunny after a fierce struggle, and Shakkan was impressed by their bravery and decided to spare them. Just when the negotiations finally seemed to take a turn for the better, one of the fellowship members, Awar, betrayed both the Sirithai and his companions. He activated a shard of Krystallopyr he had been hiding in his robe and used it to suck Shakkan's essence within the shard. He then teleported away with his divine prisoner, intent on using the god's essence to reforge Krystallopyr on behalf of his sinister master, Iblis al-Djinn, the Grand Vizier of Vanna. However, Awar was captured thanks to the brave actions of Fel Ridoon but Shakkan still remained trapped in the shard. The fellowship realized that the only way to free Shakkan from the magical prison and gain the trust of the sirithai would be to take the shard to the Black Stone in Vanna and thus risk walking into Iblis's and Adela's trap. The sirithai and the fellowship prepared for war. The battle for a god's fate--and for the lives of their trapped friends--was about to begin. The combined force of the sirithai and the fellowship, including supporters of Khalid al-Saif who wished to take the throne from Adela and drive out the Clergy of Artemicia, fought against Adela's and Iblis's supporters in the First Battle of Vanna. Shakkan was freed from the Krystallopyr shard thanks to the fellowship member Daventhalas de Mont Hault who succeeded in shattering the Black Stone before Iblis could reforge Krystallopyr. Shakkan returned to the High Plane but not before thanking the fellowship for their bravery. He finally came to understand that other races beyond the sirithai and beasts could in fact coexist if they kept their ambitions in check. He decided to dwell on this matter and left the Land of the Living be for now. Meanwhile the fellowship succeeded in dethroning Adela, driving Iblis away and installing Khalid on the throne of Vanna as the First Battle of Vanna ended in a victory. The sirithai were given rights to live without fear of persecution by a decree of Ax and even if such a decree wasn't welcomed with open arms by some of the Sarquil, they owed their lives to the heroics of Ax's group so they acknowledged the sirithai. The victory would be short-lived, however, because Adela eventually escaped from prison and the demonic Northern Horde took over Vanna in the Second Battle of Vanna, driving the surviving Sarquil and Alliance members north and forcing the sirithai to go into hiding. A Grand Gamble Shakkan laid low for a time, trying to figure out his next move now that the demons were making their own plans. While studying events of the Land of the Living from the High Plane, he came to learn of a plot by the Dwarven Triad and, to an extent, Adela al-Saif and the Clergy of Artemicia, which involved freeing Laverna, the Goddess of Thieves who had been trapped in the body of a mortal like Shakkan himself had once been and using the goddess for their own ends. Not wanting Laverna to remain a pawn of mortals and recognizing the divine hand of Dionysus, the God of Wine and Madness, behind these events, Shakkan decided to involve himself with mortals once again but this time with help of his other followers. The God of Beasts contacted several people from his still existing clergy, including the barbarian Svyatogor, a chimaera, and the nymph Serene, and sent them to Reign to find a means to free Laverna from her host, who appeared to be a human girl named Haruko Mizushima, one way or another. The goddess's host body emerged during a ritual in the Day of the Damned, and Shakkan eventually felt that he needed to intervene himself when a group of wandering adventurers interfered in the clash between Artemicia's and Shakkan's followers by stealing Haruko from them. Shakkan confronted one of the adventurers, the Sarquil merchant Javan al-Kassis in an effort to prevent Javan and his companions from transporting Haruko elsewhere. He was thwarted by Artemicia who manifested in the flesh and banished Shakkan back to the High Plane. Shakkan was furious of the goddess's interference, now realizing that Artemicia had set her eyes on Laverna for whatever reason, and that meant Artemicia's father Nergal might be involved too. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Shakkan ordered his followers to continue pursuing Haruko and end the life of her, Laverna's host, if needed and even if this would force them to oppose the people who were now trying to protect Haruko. However, by this time the nymph Serene had grown greatly confused, and Shakkan was unable to influence the nymph's thoughts anymore much to his frustration. It appeared to him that both Artemicia and Dionysus were playing their own game, so th God of Beasts decided to bide his time and wait for the other gods' move before acting. Shakkan eventually witnessed Laverna and Dionysus's reunion in the labyrinthine Malperdy underneath Trinity Gask and them possessing the children who Haruko, who was revealed to be a disguised kitsune and once a cleric of Laverna, had given birth to. He also noticed several people from the incident in Reign appearing in the labyrinth to save Haruko but there were also new faces in the group such as the young bard Arcturius who was personally invested in Haruko's well-being. Realizing that both gods had acted in tandem and thwarted Artemicia's schemes for now while manipulating these mortals to act as their pawns, Shakkan decided to stay out, not only because he wasn't sure what would happen next but also because Dionysus's wards prevented him from interfering directly. His follower Svyatogor wasn't going to give up so easily, though, as he had made an oath to end Haruko for what Haruko had done to his ancestors in the past. The barbarian's efforts ended in failure when the Crimson Coalition arrived in Malperdy and captured anyone it could for questioning. Dionysus and Laverna managed to flee with their host bodies and their curious companions through a portal before they were caught, however, although they left Haruko behind. By the time the two gods and their company appeared in Shipwreck Cove in Yamato, Shakkan realized that the two gods' plan was leading to something even he hadn't foreseen, but the pieces of the puzzle were slowly beginning to make sense to him. Despite wanting to find out what they were planning and if they could be useful allies against Nergal and Artemicia, Shakkan decided to let the two gods be for now and instead observed their actions to see whatever they were planning to use various mortals for. Shakkan also took notice of some sirithai working alongside the Union Workers, a far-reaching Libaterran thieves guild, until the sirithai betrayed, the Union, the Magicracy of Alent and the Crimson Coalition in the Battle of the Rivers with help from the witch Kendra Finian, an act which nearly wiped out both armies. It would take time for the sirithai's double-dealings to become known to Alent, and in the meantime Shakkan had more pressing matters to attend to, which included freeing many of his beasts which he felt deserved to roam free, including the hydra. Shakkan observed events in Etheril in early winter and noticed Arcturius, one of the mortals who had been involved in Laverna's scheme in Malperdy, entering the Whitehawk Manor where the boy was attacked and left for dead. The God of Beasts appeared to Arc in a vision and, despite taking offense to Arc's lack of respect and involvement in protecting Haruko from the god's wrath, he informed the bard of his intention to free the hydra from the boy's ancestral home. During their brief conversation, he also hinted of the faerfolc's involvement in shaping the young bard's life. Possessing the weakened bard who let him into his mind, Shakkan used his power to direct the hydra and free it from the basement. The hydra then went on a rampage, killing the Totenkopfs who had attacked Arc in the manor and burrowing to freedom. Shakkan then created a portal, allowing the bard to leave the manor and return to his forest home. Once Arc was free of the manor, Shakkan ceased his possession and returned to the High Plane, content that he had used the boy to set free the hyrdra after its long imprisonment. Aliases and Nicknames ; God of Beasts : A title given to Shakkan. Appearance Shakkan has the golden, godly glow. He wears minimal clothing and his muscular body is full of various mysterious tattoos. He basically looks like a noble savage with a ponytail. Personality and Traits Shakkan has a very short temper. He is rather violent by nature and will attack anyone who opposes him. He does not like to plan because he prefers going with the flow. Other than that he can be a decent fellow to hang around with if one understands that his brutish attitude is the result of years of resentment over what Nergal has done to him. Powers and Abilities Shakkan is a god and thus he is rather powerful although nowhere near as powerful as the older gods. He can mutate creatures into deadlier forms and can communicate with all animals. He is a skilled warrior as well although he does not rely on any strategy but instead on his instincts. Relationships Arcturius Although initially seeing Arcturius as yet another mortal who had been fooled by Laverna, he became more interested in him after observing the events in the Land of the Living. By the time Arc reached Etheril, Shakkan decided to use the boy to free the hydra trapped inside the Whitehawk manor. Shakkan succeeded in this goal by possessing Arc who had been too weak to resist him, and as thanks he led the boy into a portal which took him far away from Etheril where he could continue his adventures if he survived from the hydra's venom. Arc was left confused by the whole ordeal but has pushed the events out of his mind, choosing instead to focus on the challenges he presently faces. Artemicia There is little love between Artemicia and Shakkan, not only because Artemicia is related to Nergal but because their views on the world differ greatly. The two gods have interfered in each other's affairs for a long time, and Shakkan hasn't forgiven Artemicia's involvement with Nergal. Artemicia sees Shakkan as a mindless brute but still as someone who could be of use to her given the right circumstances. Gaea Shakkan cared for Gaea a great deal, seeing her respect of nature and life as important for the survival of his beasts. Gaea's death left its mark on Shakkan who has viewed people with human blood, such as the Andain Kagetsu who was sired from a human mother, with suspicion until recent events have given him time to consider the possibility that perhaps not all non-beasts are worth killing. Despite this, Shakkan worries for the world in Gaea's absence because if the world withers, it will affect his beasts as well. Heath Shakkan was a good friend of the Heath, the Goddess of Nature, who wished to replace Gaea as the new Earth Mother. However, their relationship ended tragically when Malakhia d'Zarnagon slew Heath in a climactic battle in the Ruined Kingdom. Shakkan was furious of his friend's death and helped Omaroch d'Zarnagon defeat Malakhia. Hephaestus Hephaestus has often acted as a mentor to Shakkan. He has guided Shakkan in the art of creation but he has often lamented the fact that Shakkan is impulsive and does not think things through. Shakkan respects Hephaestus but in the end he does not want to be chained by any god and only wants to let his children live freely, even if this means going against Hephaestus too in the end. Laverna After learning that Laverna was trapped in the body of Haruko Mizushima, Shakkan resolved to free Laverna by killing her host as he didn't want any god to suffer imprisonment after he'd seen it happen to too many gods already. Despite this, Shakkan is also suspicious of Laverna to an extent, knowing what trickery she's capable of, and is interested in finding out if she and her kitsune can become allies in his war against Nergal. Mori'sul Agara Shakkan spent many years in Mori'sul's body, and in time the two opened up to one another. It was Shakkan who managed to ease Mori'sul's guilt about certain past actions, and it was only by their teamwork that they managed to hold out long enough to help the heroes fight off Nergal in the Ruined Kingdom. Mori'sul died like a hero, and Shakkan was impressed by the dark elf's determination to protect the world from the forces of Darkness. Nergal Nergal is the big brother of Shakkan, but the two have never got along. It probably didn't help that Nergal was responsible for sealing Shakkan into the Ruined Kingdom for years. Omaroch d'Zarnagon Shakkan was initially antagonistic when he met Omaroch who had killed his precious dire wolves. He challenged Omaroch to a duel and was surprised by the demon's skill. They eventually reconciled and aided one another when they realized that they needed each other's powers to defeat powerful foes such as Malakhia. However, Shakkan foresaw that Omaroch would bring forth a great darkness, and in order to counter this he contacted Omaroch's brothers and thus betrayed Omaroch for what he perceived as the greater good. Shakkan was unaware that his actions had only helped the Prophecy of the Two Brothers move along in a faster pace: while the other demons dragged Omaroch with them, Omaroch's family was left without protection. This would eventually culminate in the kidnapping of Omaroch's son Kareth which in turn led to the birth of the dreadful Godslayer a few decades later. Qadohi Qadohi of the Tongue was the first High Cleric of Shakkan who, along with the rest of her race, was put to sleep after the War of the Andain. She awoke with the rest the Sirithai after the Cataclysm and has resumed her duties as high cleric despite her old age. Taruck The barbarian Taruck acted as the High Cleric of the Clergy of Shakkan during the events of Darkness Within. He was one of the few humans that Shakkan ever respected, and the two often thought alike. Taruck's death was a heavy blow to Shakkan who swore to hunt down the killer, Malakhia, down. See also *Arcturius *Clergy of Shakkan *Darkness Within *God *House of Zarnagon *Mori'sul Agara *Sirithai Category:Characters Category:Clergy of Shakkan Category:First Age Category:Gods Category:High Plane Category:Second Age Category:Third Age